Lily O'Brien

Lily O'Brien is a freelance writer and editor with a passion for the performing arts. She has written feature articles and previews for a variety of publications including Downbeat, JazzTimes, Marin Arts & Culture, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Marin Independent Journal, and Strings magazine. She is a singer who has performed professionally in a variety of genres, and an avid world traveler and bicyclist.

Articles By This Author

Lily O'Brien - March 5, 2024

The chorus will perform Andrea Ramsey’s 2022 work, which calls attention to the unsung participants in the suffrage movement.

Lily O'Brien - February 11, 2024

Tenor Edward Graves, a former Adler Fellow, talks about playing the Duke of Mantua for the first time.

Lily O'Brien - November 28, 2023

You may not have heard of them all, but there’s significant accomplishment within this circle of Black musicians.

Lily O'Brien - October 28, 2023

Fayetteville, North Carolina, is the setting for Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels’s Pulitzer Prize-winning opera — and where Raven grew up.

Lily O'Brien - October 2, 2023

The company is telling an all-American story in composer Carlisle Floyd’s setting of John Steinbeck’s classic novella.

Lily O'Brien - May 30, 2023

The Swedish soprano returns to SF Opera to tackle the challenging character of the Dyer’s Wife in Die Frau ohne Schatten.

Lily O'Brien - April 17, 2023

After 22 years, the well-loved music director is saying farewell to the Bay Area and venturing further afield.

Lily O'Brien - February 13, 2023

This year’s PIVOT Festival will showcase the music of Black and women composers, works that haven’t been recorded until now.

Lily O'Brien - December 19, 2022

The ensemble’s longtime music director leads the annual New Year’s concerts before stepping down in January.

Lily O'Brien - November 7, 2022

The star soprano, who makes her SF Opera debut this month as Violetta, says hard work is at the core of everything she does.